Digital Cinema Distribution Research Articles

Learning-based Framework for Color Conversion between Digital Cinema Package and Streaming Movie

Humans feel different experiences when viewing a cinema at the theater and home. This paper presents methods to reduce the difference in the viewing experience. Based on the workflow of digital cinema distribution, the proposed method attempts to minimize the color difference between digital cinema packages (DCP) for the theater and streaming movies. For end-to-end mapping between the DCP and streaming movie, this paper proposes a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based color conversion algorithm based on the SMPTE standard. The proposed method consists of three steps: i) color conversion using standard matrices, ii) color conversion using the CNN, and iii) color saturation error removal by fusing the results in steps i) and ii). The proposed method enhances the color of TV streaming images because it minimizes the color difference from the DCP and appropriately extends the color gamut. As a result, the proposed method can provide consumers with indistinguishable quality from a DCP movie at the theater.

Digital preservation and the sustainability of film heritage

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the lack of published work on the preservation of digital materials within European film heritage institutions (FHIs). 1 In the long-term, technological change might have relevant consequences, on the sustainability of film preservation, affecting the ability to write film history and experience cultural memories. Although there is general awareness of the complexity and the cost of maintenance of digital preservation infrastructures, we have little knowledge of what specifically film heritage institutions are doing to address these challenges. Based on elite interviews with leading film archivists and analysis of relevant policy documents, this paper shows that FHIs are actively engaging with technological and institutional change and implementing valuable initiatives. However, this paper confirms that, roughly 10 years since the widespread of digital cinema distribution, FHIs are generally still striving to provide long-term sustainable and trustworthy solutions to safeguard the digital materials that they are acquiring or creating via digitisation. Although some institutions have built fairly reliable infrastructures, problems still arise from the instability of the information technology sector and from its persistent strategies of planned obsolescence.

Encoding and Encryption of Digital Cinema Package

During the past decade it became the use of digital formats became widespread in the production, post production, and distribution process in the film industry. Digital cinema package is one of the widely accepted and commonly used formats in the distribution of digital cinema. This paper specifies the key details and attributes of digital cinema package along with the encoding and encryption process used in digital cinema package creation. Most commonly used approaches in digital cinema distribution are discussed in the later section of the document. The evaluation of encoding of the digital cinema package is based on a practical approach and the experimental results obtained are also discussed.

Implementation of Digital Cinema Mastering System Supporting Multiple Encoding and Wrapping Servers

Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) has established DCI Digital Cinema System Specification (DCSS) which is intended to promote the widespread deployment of digital cinema. We propose a distributed mastering system of digital cinema. It can simultaneously encode Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) images into JPEG2000 images on remote servers and produce a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) and Key Delivery Message (KDM) that can be satisfied to DCSS. The distributed mastering system covers the packaging process of DCP for digital cinema content and the generating and issuing process of KDM for the DCP.

Area Efficient, High Speed EBCOT Architecture for Digital Cinema

Embedded block coding with optimised truncation (EBCOT) is a key algorithm in digital cinema (DC) distribution system. Though several high speed EBCOT architectures exist, all are not capable of meeting the DC specifications. To meet this challenge, the relationship between contents of a code block (CB) and context generation is studied. Our study reveals that it is difficult to predict number of contexts generated in a bit plane. Even the nature of number of contexts produced varies from CB to CB. In such a situation, it is difficult to ensure the frame rate requirement of DC. To avoid this uncertainty, a pass parallel, concurrent sample coding EBCOT architecture is proposed in this paper. It is capable of encoding one bit plane in 288 clock cycles under any circumstances. This design is prototyped on XC4VLX80-12 FPGA with multiple clock domains. After synthesizing, the bit plane coder (BPC) and MQ coder operate at 450 MHz and 123 MHz, respectively. In order to maintain synchronism among different clock domains, the BPC and MQ coder units are operated at 432 MHz and 108 MHz, respectively. This entails that the proposed design is capable of processing size 57 DC frames in a second.

TÜRKİYE’DE SİNEMA SALONLARININ DİJİTAL DÖNÜŞÜMU

Cinema industry is changing from celluloid-based film (35mm film) production, distribution and release net to the digital production, distribution and release net. Today digital process about production phase has been completed, providing the standardization is waited. So In digital cinema distribution and release phase which seem a real problem involves suspense out of a few practice. It is underlined that right away cinema industry need to invest in digital cinema which reduces the costs to compete with innovations such as HD TV broadcasting, developing DVD market. Also, new digital technology enables film distribution, download and viewing via internet so this appeals to the audience and causes lose of audience in the movie theatres. It is asserted that with digital cinema distribution and release, costs will be lower and its positive results in the ticket prices (lower ticket price) will appeal the audience to the movie theatres again. At this point in spite of the finance ,suspense of technological standardization and inadequacy of craft, main concern is how to transform movie theatres to the digital cinema. This notice focuses on observed release aspect of digital process in Turkey cinema both in production and release field. Within this scope the question of has Turkey got a ‘policy of digital cinema’ will be answered.

Security in Photonic Networks: Threats and Security Enhancement

We address emerging threats to the security of photonic networks as these networks become heterogeneous being opened to the upper layers, other operators, and end users. We review the potential threats, mainly loss of the confidentiality of user data transmitted through optical fibers and disturbances of network control, both of which could seriously damage the entire network. We then propose a novel conceptual model of a secure photonic network by introducing a quantum key distribution (QKD) network to its legacy structure. Secure keys generated by the QKD network are managed by key management agents (KMAs) and used to encrypt not only user data but also control signals. The KMAs cooperate with the generalized multiprotocol label-switching controller for secure path provisioning and drive photonic and modern crypto engines in appropriate combinations. Finally, we present a roadmap of a deployment scenario, starting from niche applications such as mission critical and business applications and the next. Digital cinema distribution through a photonic network is presented as an example of a niche application.

Restoration of Damaged Korean Films by Using Various Image-Processing Techniques

Recently, the digital cinema distribution chain has added an additional path for showing old, damaged films using proper restoration. Old films, which were acquired by low-quality cameras and stored in poor conditions, tend to have many defects compared with movies made with modern digital works. This paper presents a set of image-processing algorithms for enhancing and restoring old films severely degraded by camera jitter, film scratches, grain noise, and poor contrast. In 2005, the Korean Film Council reran 30-year-old animated films in high-quality digital standard. In this work we briefly introduce the restoration of these animated films and provide details of the additional ongoing restoration work on old Korean films with a consideration of the bottleneck between the main workflow and compatibility of intermediate equipment. Experimental results are presented for restored samples of old movies and animations followed by the workflow pipeline of the proposed restoration process.

Color Processing for Digital Cinema 6: An Example of Color Processing through the Entire System

This series of articles on color processing for digital cinema is based on the Engineering Guideline, SMPTE 432-1. The DC28 committee believed the information in that guideline would be more widely available if it were published as a series of articles in the Journal. This sixth article in the series describes some methods for producing a digital cinema distribution master (DCDM). Most of this article deals with the digital source master (DSM), a topic that the SMPTE standards don't address, because everything related to it is specific to each posthouse. Even though each posthouse may want to create the DSM in its own way, there are some general considerations that will apply to all efforts to create a DSM, and from it the DCDM.

DCI 규격을 만족하는 디지털시네마 배급을 위한 시각적 무손실 압축 연구

본 논문에서는 디지털시네마의 효율적인 배급을 위해서 시각적 무손실 압축 개념을 도입하여 정리하고 효과를 분석한다. 최근 디지털시네마 배급은 DCI에서 채택한 JPEG 2000을 영상 압축 표준으로 이루어지고 있다. 따라서 DCI 규격에 정의된 JPEG 2000의 특징을 살펴본 후, 디지털시네마에서 중요한 시각적 무손실 개념을 정리한다. 실험을 통해 DCI 규격에서 규정한 방식으로 JPEG 2000의 압축성능을 시각적 무손실 관점에서 평가했으며, 그 결과 영화 배급에 필요한 품질 기준을 만족하는 것으로 판단된다. This raper analyzes the effect of visually lossless image compression for efficient distribution of digital cinema. Currently, distribution of digital cinema is carried out based on JPEG 2000 standard that has been selected by DCI. We first summarize characteristics of JPEG 2000, and then define the concept of visually lossless coding that plays an important role in digital cinema distribution. We provide a test for JPEG 2000 compression performance according to DCI specification for visually lossless. Based on the experiment, the result satisfies high quality for cinema distribution.

Color Processing for Digital Cinema 2: Explanation of the Constants 4095 and 52.37, the White Points, and the Black

This series of articles on the color processing for digital cinema is based on the Engineering Guideline, SMPTE 432–1. The DC28 committee thought the information in that guideline would be more widely available if it were published as a series of articles in the SMPTE Journal. This second article in the series describes the reasons for choosing the constants 4095 and 52.37 in the Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) encoding and decoding equations and discusses white and black points.

디지털영화 활성화 방안에 관한 연구

This study was started to not only resolve structural problems such as lack of contents, an unstable structure of earnings, and reduction of an additional market in Korean film industry through revitalizing digital cinema, but also make digital cinema become a power for growing Korean film industry furthermore. In the section of revitalizing digital cinema production, I suggest that expanding an audience base of low budget art cinema using digital technology will contribute to diversity film contents, and joint production with broadcasters by digital technology will expedite growing film industry as well as revitalizing digital cinema production. In the section of revitalizing digital cinema distribution, I insist, we should make effort positively to build reasonable hold-back and so on in order that film industry`s positive participation in the market of digital film distribution and new media such as DMB or IP-TV may become an additional market to film industry. In conclusion, we can gain a foothold to leap toward a Position of cultural technology Power through efforts to resolve problems inherent in digital cinema.

Superhigh‐definition digital cinema distribution system with 8‐million‐pixel resolution

AbstractWe developed a prototype superhigh‐definition (SHD) digital cinema system that can store, transmit, and display extrahigh‐quality movies with a resolution of 8 million pixels, using JPEG2000 coding algorithm. The spatial resolution on image quality is four times better than HDTV, and surpasses that of 35‐mm cinefilm. The system is comprised of three principal apparatus designed for SHD movies: a video server, a real‐time decoder, and a projector. The movie data digitized by scanning the cinefilm is compressed using JPEG2000 coding algorithm and stored in the video server in advance. Using Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) links and TCP/IP protocols, the server transmits the compressed digital movie data stream of 300 to 450 Mbps to a real‐time decoder. The decoder receives the compressed data stream, and outputs a raw, uncompressed, 10‐bit R/G/B digital video signal using a parallel‐processor mechanism in real time. The projector reproduces the SHD movie using three reflective LCD panels (D‐ILA), one for each 10‐bit R/G/B color, while receiving the raw digital video signal through the special video interfaces. This system enables us to distribute digital cinema of original 35‐mm cinefilm quality via the GbE network. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 37(4): 35–44, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20465

Contrast Sensitivity Experiment to Determine the Bit Depth for Digital Cinema

The SMPTE Color ad hoc group was formed in 2001 (under DC28.2) to investigate the colorimetric requirements for the Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM). A draft specification on color image encoding was published in September 2002 that recommended the use of XYZ color space, a gamma 1/2.6 transfer function, and 12 bits per color. With the support of Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), a test was designed to verify these color image encoding parameters. This paper reports the results of the contrast sensitivity experiment, which showed that many of our observers could see a modulation corresponding to a one code value change with 10-bit encoding, but few observers would see a one-code value change with 12-bit encoding. This result matches the results of published contrast sensitivity experiments.